The invention relates to an apparatus for removing animal bones from the meat surrounding the bone, with the bone having a joint at least at one end, like thighs of slaughtered chickens. The apparatus includes two blades rectilinearly movable towards and away from each other which can encircle the bone and a joint in order to incise the meat, two clamps movable towards and away from each other which also are mutually rectilinearly movable to and from the blades in a plane perpendicular to the blades in order to clamp a bone end and pull it through the blades, and driving means for the blades and clamps.
Such an apparatus generally is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,675. The known apparatus comprises pneumatic driving means for the blades and clamps. This causes great difficulties as to adjusting the right motion times of the blades and the clamps and problems as to maintaining the motion times.